Do You Live 2-3 Hours Away from a Major Chess Center?

A major chess center is like New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and places like that.   It doesn't necessarily have to be a large city, but a city where there are swiss tournaments going on about 2-3 weekends a month.  The benefit to chess aficionados is that there are more opportunities to play, and thus put into practice what they've learned.  And, of course, to gain rating points and attain goals and titles.

Now, if you're not living in such a locale (like me) and you have goals in chess that require more than (let's say) 15-20 OTB games per year, then what are the possible solutions?

Here's my tentative thoughts:

1)  Win a high percentage of your games!  The huge downside is that you have a ridiculous pressure to not lose.  So much so, that it might be a net negative.

2)  Cut back on other areas of life.  So that you have time to travel and stay overnight for chess tournaments.

3)  Cut back on chess.  And your chess goals.  

What other candidate possibilities are there?  And it may require a combination (pun unintended) of these actions.

They were calling it dead 100 years ago, but more people play now than ever. They were calling it dead in Capa's time because QGD was the only opening (they thought). Fischer called it dead because massive cognitive dissonance and a fragile ego couldn't let him accept the e.g. the Karpov - Kasparov matches were real (he claimed he was still the world champion and all those games were fake).

Stop trying to spread your personal negativity to others. If you hate chess just quit.

Well, if you have to go, then yes, you have to travel.

But you could consider supplementing it with long internet games. A group on chess.com organizes this:
https://www.chess.com/club/slow-chess-league

I read some thing yesterday that said more people play chess in the United States than golf and tennis combined. Something like that.

Like Fischer it seems you're upset with yourself but can't admit it, so you decide you're not bad, it's chess that's bad.

Happens every week, in 100s of countries all over the world. And for over 100 years.

n

I've played 60 games here. You've played over 1000... go away if you hate it so much.

Yes, look at all those grown men, well dressed, in serious thought. First thing that comes to mind? Drug addicts. The nadir of society for sure.

lol.

I'd love to hear about how much you dislike homosexuals... if it's anything like how you hate chess then I'm sure you're very... experienced

SOS82 is clearly just trolling. I mean, he's played 1000+ blitz games here (on this account - he has multiple others on other sites and old one(s) here, according to old users), and if it were baby blitz (3+0) that might be acceptable  but they're longer games. 

He writes posts on how the interface here and engine users are worsening his playing experience, which is understandable - I'd be upset too. 

He makes sincere, heartfelt posts about how chess is beautiful, which in itself is motivation for him to play, etc. 

He wants advice on how to manage time better, which he may have improved at. 

It's all just some kind of venting at something when he says this stuff. 

What I dislike is he takes it out on newer players who are just asking for how to get started.

If he wants to b*tch and moan then let him make his own topic to do it.

"Deep dark depression hole" just sounds like more projection. 

And it's not dead, I already addressed that. It's also not one of the least popular activities, I addressed that too.

But certainly if some kid is trying to decide between chess and school or family, then do those things first, chess can come later, or as a lesser priority when you have free time.

Play on chess.com until late you reach a rating of about 2500, then you are good enough that traveling long ways, and having to stay in hotels overnight are worth it.

Play on chess.com until late you reach a rating of about 2500, then you are good enough that traveling long ways, and having to stay in hotels overnight are worth it.

There are rated tournaments almost every weekend of the year somewhere in the US. There are often a decent number of them most weekends in multiple regions of the country that may take a bit of travel for at least some participants.

If I had the time I could play in a tourney this weekend, the weekend after that. Then I would have to take a short break of two week, or travel farther away. Then a choice of two tourneys the next weekend, one the week after that, one the week after that, etc.

Those are all in my state or a neighboring one and most within a 4 to 4.5 hour drive, which is doable for a Friday-Sunday trip, even it a bit tiring. Only some of those are in Saint Louis. One site is about 5 and one 5.5 hours away.

Yeah it costs a little but gives you a chance for decent OTB rated chess.  Many of those that attend are more local but there are almost always some that drive from farther away.

What use I put my money to is my concern, not anyone else, other than my wife. Lots of people have hobbies. Chess is one of mine and I spend some money on it on occasion.

Assuming I'm playing well, I get good games in with other players, in a setting where distractions are at a minimum. The game are also officially rated and the outcomes are 100% determined by the skill and knowledge of the players, or lack thereof. 

You also don't get disconnects, people running out the time in lost positions, etc. I still like online but I also like playing people OTB at the club and at tourneys. I only wish I had more time to go to some and someday I'm hoping to attend events in other countries as well.

Most of the tourneys I've been to have kids there but the majority of players are all adults.  I also pay money to do running events and have traveled to one and will be traveling to another. I'm not fast and will never place in the top. I also travel for fun.

It's called being an adult and doing what I like to do.

Hi TheSonOfSorrow82,

Thanks for your comment.  Believe it or not, I do appreciate it!  I want to ask you something else first:  How did you come up with your username?  It's quite unusual, and therefore, quite memorable.  In my case, when I hear "Son of Sorrow" I think of... (sorry if politically incorrect) ... Jesus Christ!  I don't know why, but I do.  Anyways, please inform me as to how or why you chose the username you did.

Getting back to your comment, a lot of what you're saying is actually probably why I "retired" or quit playing chess back in the late 1980's!   Therefore, I will take what you say seriously.  In effect, you're saying "Choose Option 3:  Cut back on chess.  And your chess goals."

So why did I come back after several decades of absence away from chess?  It's a worthy question, and I would like to have a friendly debate/discussion with you on a separate thread from this one.  Which I will create if you agree.

But getting back to my question (and it's directed at chess fans who live some distance away from a chess hub), what do you think of the ordeal of travel and traveling expenses to play OTB games?

The inner pessimist in me is thinking like this (and sometimes it's difficult to shut him up):  "If I spend valuable time and money on a weekend tournament 2-3 hours away, and I lose most of my games, or blunder away a won game like an idiot, I am going to be freaking pizzed off on the drive home.  Lose rating points, and I'm not a happy camper."  

I mean, that's life, that's chess (or like a bad beat in poker, "that's poker"), but if this happens to commenters in chess.com's community, how do they handle it?  How do they get past the anger, the pain, the intense disgust, the inner recriminations of an unsuccessful weekend tournament trip which had so much hope on the Friday night before?

....yes, by plane.

I totally agree w/ ur stance SOS. Chess is the dumbest game anyone can do. But I kinda enjoy some 3 or 5 minute blitz now & again, 'cuz when I'm done ?....I feel like I drank 3 cups a espresso. My brain is bombing around crazy & I feel like 1a those dolls that u squeeze and it's eyes pop out.

And BTW, the only book I ever read about it was Yasser's splash called No Regrets. I laffed all the way thru it....except when Duncan annotated. Duncan's stuff is pretty serious. Yasser's totally hilarious !

I may play in Norfolk tho' this summer. I'll try to match it up w/ catching up w/ abuncha friends stateside.